Henry II and Thomas Becket

Henry II and Thomas Becket
Then and Now

I was fascinated by James Comey testifying against Donald the Dumb for many reasons. Comey said that Donald the Dumb had lied. Comey made memos immediately after talking with him. Comey gave the memos to a former professor in the hope of getting a special counsel appointed to investigate the fake president. While Comey is well educated in the law and related matters, I was unaware of his education in the arts.

King: “When the president of the United States, in the Oval Office, says something like ‘I hope,’ or ‘I suggest,’ or ‘would you,’ do you take that as a directive?”

Comey: “Yes. It rings in my ears as kind of ‘will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?’”

King: “I was just going to quote that. In 1170, December 29, Henry II said, ‘who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?’ and the next day, he was killed. Thomas Becket. That’s exactly the same situation.”

The killing of the meddlesome priest

I was surprised by both James Comey and Sen. Angus King’s liberal arts educational background on Shakespeare’s play, Henry II. I have written scores of essays about having to memorize poetry and prose while in high school. I hated that task, but I have benefited immensely from having done all that memorization. Comey and King’s educational backgrounds paralleled mine.

While Comey and King’s backgrounds ran parallel to mine, Henry II and Thomas Becket’s lives paralleled Tump and Comey’s lives. Donald the Dumb wanted to rid the meddlesome FBI Director from his life. Had this storyline taken place in Moscow, Comey would have been murdered as was Becket.

What Donald the Dumb wasn’t aware was this exchange between Henry II and Becket from the movie, Becket.

Henry II: Am I the strongest or am I not?

Thomas Becket: You are today, but one must never drive one's enemy to despair; it makes him strong. Gentleness is better politics....

While Donald the Dumb and I are from the same generation, there is one thing that I possess that he doesn’t. I have done the dance with death. Everyone knows, intellectually, that they are not immortal. However, I danced with death, and I know in my gut that the clock is ticking. Someday, I won’t have a someday. Therefore, the burning issue is what will be my legacy to my family and the world. Man, that not only burns but motivates me to act.

Donald, you are Henry II both now and forever. What a legacy.

On Seeing the Light